Feline cowpoxvirus infections in Germany: clinical and epidemiological aspects

Clinical and epidemiological aspects of cats with cowpox in Germany from the years 2004 to 2010 are described and discussed. Questionnaires were sent to veterinarians and owners of affected cats identified with the help of a number of pathology laboratories. Of 69 mailed questionnaires, 45 veterinary and 26 owner questionnaires were returned and a total of 46 feline poxcases were evaluated. The cases were distributed all over Germany although there was an accumulation of cases in specific geographic areas. The clinical and epidemiological observations match those of other studies. The majority of cats were outdoor cats, came from a rural environment and developed clinical signs in late summer or autumn. All cats showed skin lesions which were predominantly localized on the anterior part of the body, 61% of the cats showed other clinical signs in addition to the skin lesions. Approximately half of the cats lived in a multi-pet household, but in only one case clinical signs typical for cowpox were observed in another cat of the household. In two cases a cat-to-human transmission was assumed. In addition, to evaluate the prevalence of pox virus infections in outdoor cats in areas with previous reports of such infections, 92 apparently unaffected outdoor cats were tested for orthopoxvirus antibodies using an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Sixteen (17%) of the tested serum samples were seropositive against orthopoxvirus (titre between 1:20 and 1:40).This is a higher serum prevalence than in previously published studies from Germany. A possible explanation is selection of a population of outdoor cats from regions with previous known clinical cases.